


Affection

by Ilovecastiel18



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Men Crying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:34:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29496621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ilovecastiel18/pseuds/Ilovecastiel18
Summary: Hardy is having a hard time coping with Ricky Gillespie being involved in the Sandbrook case. Ellie tries to comfort him like he comforted her through everything with Joe. Hurt/comfort, friendship, angst. One-Shot.
Relationships: Alec Hardy & Ellie Miller
Kudos: 18





	Affection

**Author's Note:**

> My go-to trauma for Hardy is Ricky being involved in the case, because we all know that he practically killed himself trying to solve it because he thought of Pippa like she was his own daughter. I know I use this a lot, but it can’t be helped *shrugs* Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story! If you like it, please consider leaving a kind review, those always motivate me to keep writing. Thanks for reading!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own these characters, locations, storylines, or anything else from the show Broadchurch. If I did, I would not be sitting around writing fanfiction, and I certainly wouldn’t have such a strong desire to meet David Tennant, because I already would have.

……….

Affection

……….

Ellie was worried about Hardy. She knew more about his experience with the Sandbrook case than he probably knew that she knew, so she was aware of how hard he had worked the case. She also knew that he had practically killed himself because he was thinking of Pippa Gillespie as if she were his own daughter, Daisy, and had worked harder than he had ever worked before to try to solve it for Ricky Gillespie.

And then, as it turned out, Ricky was involved the whole time.

Ellie felt her heart clench when Ricky was escorted from the interrogation room in handcuffs, more for Hardy than anything else. She was afraid that this would break him. She knew that he was not the man that he used to be before the Sandbrook case, but Ricky being involved…

She wasn’t sure if Hardy could recover.

Ellie had expected Hardy to take off from the interrogation room as soon as Ricky was escorted out, and she wasn’t disappointed. Hardy was out of his chair and out the door before Ricky was even handcuffed, whipping his coat off the back of his chair and slamming the door behind him.

Ellie sat there for a moment in silence, trying to decide exactly what she should do.

On the one hand, her and Hardy had never been super close. He had always been somewhat of a friend, but she had never thought that she would possibly have to comfort him after a hard case. She wasn’t sure if she would be crossing some invisible line between them if she tried to comfort him.

On the other hand, he had been there for her when Joe was arrested, and after he was acquitted. He had stood by her side even when everybody else in the town, Tom included, had believed her to be involved in Danny’s murder. She had just never thought that their roles would be reversed, and she would have to be there for him instead of him being there for her.

Of course, she wasn’t opposed to helping Hardy through whatever emotions he was going through. She did care about him, even if she had never admitted that to anyone, least of all him. Ellie just wasn’t sure if Hardy would welcome something like that from her. She had a feeling he would just shut down as soon as she walked through the door.

Ellie stood from her chair slowly, swinging her jacket over her shoulder and trudging out of the interrogation room. She had resolved to at least try to help Hardy. If she showed up at his house and he wanted her to go away, she would oblige. But there was no harm in trying to help her friend through one of the worst times in his life. Especially because he had no one else in Broadchurch (or anywhere else, really, except for Daisy) who cared about him.

Ellie walked out of the station and into the car park slowly, swinging herself into her car and tossing her coat onto the passenger seat. She wasn’t sure if Hardy would have someone drive him to his house or walk there, so she kept her eyes peeled for a scruffy, skinny man with sandy hair walking along the road. She didn’t have to drive very far to find him.

Ellie pulled her car up next to Hardy and rolled down her window. “Hardy, do you want a ride?” she called to him. he shook his head in silence. Realizing that she was practically next to her house, Ellie quickly pulled into her driveway and turned the car off, grabbing her jacket and hopping out.

“How about some company?” she asked, jogging to catch up with Hardy’s long strides and swinging her coat around her shoulders.

“You can walk with me, but I’m not really up for conversation right now, Miller.” Hardy said quietly. Ellie listened for any breaks or tightness in his voice, but she didn’t hear anything.

“That’s alright.” She replied. “Can you slow down just a little bit, though? Your legs are longer than mine.”

Hardy obliged, slowing his pace so he wouldn’t get ahead of her. They walked in silence for the fifteen minutes it took to reach his little blue house.

When they reached his house, Ellie jumped up onto his porch behind him, waiting for him to unlock the door and go inside.

“Miller, I’ll be alright. You don’t have to stay; you can go home to your kids.” Hardy said with a sigh, sliding his key into the lock.

“Lucy can take care of them for a little while, if you want the company.” Ellie replied. She stopped herself from reaching out and grasping his arm.

“You really don’t have to stay…”

“I want to, sir.” Ellie interrupted. Hardy sighed and opened the door, moving aside so she could enter after him. He slid the door shut and shrugged his coat off, hanging it on the rack next to the door. Ellie copied him.

“Do you want something to drink?” Hardy asked, turning toward his kitchen.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to some tea, if you’re making some for yourself.” Ellie saw Hardy nod. She sat down on the end of his sofa, waiting patiently. After a few minutes, she heard the kettle whistle. She heard some clinking and then Hardy emerged from the kitchen, two steaming mugs in his hands. He handed one to Ellie without looking at her, then moved to sit at the other end of the sofa.

They sat in silence for a while, sipping their tea. Ellie saw Hardy scrub a hand down his face and set his mug onto the coffee table in front of them, so she mimicked him.

“Seriously, Hardy, are you alright? I know this can’t have been easy.” She asked.

Hardy sighed, staring at the wall. “I don’t know, Miller.” He said quietly.

"I know you haven’t told me everything that happened with the original case, but I’ve… figured out some things. I know you nearly drowned pulling Pippa’s body out of the lake, and that’s probably what happened to your heart. I also know that you thought of Pippa as if she was your daughter, and that’s why you worked so hard to solve the case. Finding out that Ricky was involved… I’m sorry.”

Hardy shrugged, still refusing to look at her, “You’ve been through worse.”

“That doesn’t mean anything, Hardy. Just because Joe… you have a right to be in pain even if I’ve been through some bad times. I don’t expect you to get over this just because my husband was a murderer.” Ellie sighed when Hardy stayed silent. “You’re my friend. I don’t want you to mask your pain just because you feel bad for me. I can put my shit aside and help you through this. That’s what friends do.”

Hardy huffed and scrubbed his hands down his face, but instead of pulling them away he kept his face buried in them. After a few moments, Ellie saw his shoulders start to shake.

“Come here, Hardy.” Ellie bent forward and grasped his shoulder, pulling him down so his head was in her lap. He curled up and turned on his side, still hiding his face in his hands. Ellie started carefully running her hand through his sandy hair, pushing it back from his forehead. She started running her other hand up and down his arm.

After a few minutes, Hardy sniffed and pulled his hands away from his face. He reached across his chest and grasped the hand on his arm, scrubbing at his face with the other hand vigorously.

“Hardy, it’s okay! You don’t have to hide from me. Lord knows I’ve cried in front of you enough times.” Ellie cried out, still playing with his hair.

“It’s different.” Hardy sniffed, sitting up.

“It’s not. You’re my friend! I don’t want you to bottle everything up and suffer.” Ellie said, scooting closer to him. She reached out and grabbed his hand, which was sitting on his lap.

“That’s how I’ve always dealt with things, Miller. Why stop now?”

“Because you have someone that cares about you now, Hardy. I’m not sure that you’ve ever had someone like that before, but you do now.” Ellie replied. She sincerely hoped that Hardy realized that she cared about him.

Hardy scrubbed his free hand down his face again. “It’s just hard for me to deal with feelings like this. I’m sorry if I’ve acted like I don’t appreciate you before. I do.” He sighed, finally turning toward Ellie.

“I know you do. I appreciate you too, Hardy. You were there for me when everything went down with Joe, more than anyone else was.”  
  


Hardy gave her a watery smile. “Thank you, Ellie.” He whispered. Ellie could hear the tightness in his voice, as if he was going to start crying again.

“Anytime. Thank _you.”_ Ellie gave Hardy a small smile. “Seriously, if you ever need to vent or scream or cry or if you just need a hug, call me. I think we both deserve to have a friend right now.”

“You’re right.” Hardy tugged her forward, wrapping her free arm loosely around her shoulders. Ellie wrapped hers around his waist.

She wasn’t as worried now. She had done her best to comfort Hardy, and she felt that she had succeeded. She sincerely hoped that he would really call her if he ever needed her help again. She had meant what she said: they both needed a friend.


End file.
